Leaderboard

Lately, an intriguing phrase has come to my attention, one that refers to the movers and shakers who shape the zeitgeist of the 21st century. The term being bandied about by those who keep tabs on sociological trends is “The Nanny State”. This is a label I find very appropriate because television, the Internet, and the print news that permeate every aspect of our lives, have merged into a politically-correct nursemaid babysitting the masses. Presuming to know what’s best for us, they have sat us on their knees and pacified us with fairy tales. Robbing us of the initiative to think for ourselves and dousing us with superficiality, the "Nanny State" tells us how we are supposed to react to any event that is deemed newsworthy. To wit: We are supposed to gaze with awe and adoration at Mother Superior Angelina Jolie because she could afford an operation to increase her life span. We are supposed to cheer from the rafters and give a standing ovation to NBA center Jason Collins the superstar benchwarmer who came out of the shower and finally decided to declare he is gay - and can now look forward to a state of wedded bliss with a same sex slam dunker. We are supposed to gawk in admiration at Apple’s peeled mother, Gwyneth Paltrow, who the blurred lenses of PEOPLE magazine have declared to be “the most beautiful woman in the world”. We are also supposed to be impressed by whose designer gown is hugging Jennifer Lopez’s ass on the red carpet. We are supposed to revere our all-volunteer military, ignoring that these enlistees are motivated by an aggression masquerading as patriotism, and are spurred by a warrior mentality to gravitate toward an occupation that will give them an excuse to shoot and kill, offering as a bonus, the females in the ranks whose bodies are available for any further urge to invade. We are supposed to obey the overbearing food police who put us on diets and tell us what should not be on our menus, as if there are no theraputic benefits to be gained from enjoying what tastes good and satisfies our appetites. I just put more salt on my red meat, and I feel better already. We are supposed to be waiting with baited breath for Prince William's wife, what's-her-name, to increase England's royal population of free-loading do-nothings by dropping out an heir who may very well have as little hair as its father. Waaaaah. We are supposed to fulfill our desperate need for heroes and think that, unlike garbage men, first responders are extraordinary for doing the jobs they‘re hired to do. "Sorry we took 20 minutes to get here. The 911 operator got the address wrong." We are supposed to assure “sexting” young hotties using the social media as a showcase for their nubile charms, that they are entitled to claim “rape” as a back-up any time their risky drunken behavior results in their ending up entangled with the body of a horny young man who thinks "yes" means "yes". We are supposed to be appalled at the idea that kinky Rihanna gave edgy Chris Brown a second chance to slap her ass and - deliver an orgasm. We are supposed to think that the Pope is a rock star whose agent is God, - that heavenly wheeler dealer who also has a side gig that entails blessing America, and being on its side in time of war. We are supposed to think that “going green” will neutralize killer tornados, or catastrophic earthquakes or devastating tsuamis. Oops. Where’s our house? We are supposed to think that Blacks don’t commit suicide when in reality, they take their lives into their own hands every time they walk down an inner city street, leaving their drive-by killers to hang themselves in jails cells. We are supposed to think that Arab Muslims in this country love America and don’t secretly want to get in good with Allah by bringing down a tall building full of Jews and Christians. Last but not least, we are supposed to think that Michael Douglas, instead of his wife, is crazy when he says oral sex caused the human papiloma virus (HPV) type of throat cancer he had when, in fact, he's right. HPV is also the source of genital warts, a common STD. EW. Me, I don’t follow the dictates of the mind-controllers. I know I'm supposed to be concerned about wild horses being corralled and shipped off to glue factories. But I'm not.

@ Cynique The difference between Kola Book and Hickson is that Kola actually participated in multiple discussions regardless of my agreeing or disagreeing with her views I think she’s a head-case at times, but at least I got a glimpse of her personality…and when I DID meet her in person a couple times, she turned out to be a good hearted individual, which had led me to buy her book Kola gave me background info about her on the strength of the discussions on this board that drew interest from me to check her out I’m turned off when authors constantly promote and advertise with no personality behind their doing because it’s amateurish and unprofessional It’s like buying a car on the side of the street instead of getting it from a dealership Half of the first page on this site is bombarded by Hickson’s constant promoting…I actually took a break from this website because he’s not offering anything of substance besides promoting his material…I don’t have time to surf through pages to find a thread I actually wanna read My time is too valuable On a social site, you sell your PERSONALITY before you sell the book…it has nothing to do with genre…I’ll read anything that doesn’t bore the hell outta me Point blank I'm off this subject because to each their own